Integrating health

As our national health care costs
reach $74 billion per year, wellness
programs are in place at nearly every midsize and large business across
the country. For wellness programs to
truly become a solution for controlling
health care costs, the programs must be
well integrated into the benefit design and
company culture, says Sally Stephens,
president of Spectrum Heath Systems.
Well-integrated programs will eliminate
confusion and provide the best outcomes.

Integration can create a healthy corporate culture that motivates rather than
stimulates fear, says Stephens. Business
owners should strive to make the programs personalized and easy to access so
that the entire population can become
engaged. Statistics indicate that the more
integrated the program, the higher the
return on investment. Averages can be 12
percent or greater.

Smart Business spoke with Stephens
about the steps business owners can take
to properly integrate wellness programs
and the importance of doing so.

How does a business owner properly integrate wellness programs into the company?

Wellness programs can be properly integrated by streamlining human resources
and third-party vendors to work more
effectively together, by branding and marketing the program to employees and
families and, most importantly, tracking
outcomes to ensure the initiative is having a positive impact. Breaking down the
silos between health and wellness will
generate a focus on total health management, not just a wellness program.

Business owners must also reach out
and communicate to families when integrating wellness plans. Often, the dependents are the more costly members of the
employer’s health plan. According to
Hewitt, 60 to 70 percent of an employer’s
costs are generated by the dependents,
not the employees. And, 70 percent of
health care decisions are made by
women.

What are the risks of not integrating wellness programs into the company’s health
benefit plan?

The results may not be as effective.
Company health and wellness programs
work best in an environment where
improving well-being is understood,
accepted and encouraged by all employees. A sense of group cohesiveness is one
of the most effective methods to obtaining a well-integrated program.

How can business owners decide what wellness programs will best work with their
health benefit design and their employees?

Managers need to fully understand
employee issues and cost drivers before
implementing a wellness program. Determining management attitudes, knowledge and support can help drive the
implementation strategy.

Today, there are far more options for
employers wanting to implement a wellness program. When selecting a vendor,
choose one that takes a strategic partnership approach to health management.
Look for the right partner who can integrate health and productivity programs,
and ensure that it is aligned with the
interests of the employer and will significantly impact the company culture.

How can you integrate wellness programs to
be well received by employees?

As with any effective initiative, senior
management buy-in is critical. Personal
participation by management will reinforce the value of the program. To integrate wellness programs successfully,
business owners can:

  • Nurture a culture of health

  • Change the benefit design from an
    acute focus to prevention and chronic
    care

  • Use incentives

  • Integrate data
  • Commit long-term for the future
    health of employees

How can business owners increase participation for wellness programs?

Offering incentives will maximize participation. The most effective incentives
are those that are tied to the health plan,
such as premium discounts and contribution to flexible spending accounts. This
also helps tie the wellness program to the
employee’s health plan.

Communication is key. Employees have
to understand what benefit participating
will have on their future. Address upfront
specific issues such as privacy and confidentiality with employees. Use positive
messages regarding the program and any
incentives so that employees can recognize the benefit. True behavior change
happens when plan participants have an
investment in the game and they want to
change.

SALLY STEPHENS is the president of Spectrum Health Systems. Reach her at [email protected].